Hope for Sinning Nations and Individuals
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, the apostle Paul asks, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?" He then goes on to list several sins—fornication, adultery, stealing, coveting, drunkenness and homosexual activity—that separate people from God and His great purpose for them.
Paul draws no distinction between the sins of fornication and adultery and that of homosexual activity. All are sin, along with stealing, coveting, drunkenness and the others he lists. However, Paul then explains that it is possible, with God's help, to be freed from such sins. "And such were some of you," he writes. "But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God" (emphasis added).
Through accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins, and being transformed by the power of God's Holy Spirit at work in their lives, those caught up in such sins can receive forgiveness and start a new life. The United Church of God, publisher of The Good News magazine, offers help and encouragement to those struggling with problems such as same-sex attraction. To learn more, visit our website at breakingfree.ucg.org.
Course Content
Tom Robinson
Tom is an elder in the United Church of God who works from his home near St. Louis, Missouri as managing editor and senior writer for Beyond Today magazine, church study guides and the UCG Bible Commentary. He is a visiting instructor at Ambassador Bible College. And he serves as chairman of the church's Prophecy Advisory Committee and a member of the Fundamental Beliefs Amendment Committee.
Tom began attending God's Church at the age of 16 in 1985 and was baptized a year later. He attended Ambassador College in both Texas and California and served for a year as a history teacher at the college's overseas project in Sri Lanka. He graduated from the Texas campus in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts in theology along with minors in English and mass communications. Since 1994, he has been employed as an editor and writer for church publications and has served in local congregations through regular preaching of sermons.
Tom was ordained to the ministry in 2012 and attends the Columbia-Fulton, Missouri congregation with his wife Donna and their two teen children.
